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Business Challenge: Vinyl Banner Marketing

Testing new waters is one of the best ways to continually discover new avenues for business growth. Trying new marketing strategies leads to new customers, yet many small businesses employ the same routine over and over. While it is good to stick with what works, you should augment your tried-and-true by trying out a new marketing strategy each month. Doing so will help you grow your business over time, and chances are you’ll discover a few strategies that yield such great results, you’ll incorporate them into your routine. Steady growth lends itself to long-term sustainability, so challenge yourself to try a new marketing strategy every month. This month’s challenge is vinyl banner marketing.

Why vinyl banner marketing?

Vinyl banner marketing represents a cost-effective way to get your message and brand in front of the masses. Outdoor vinyl banners can also reach a targeted customer base. Banners are versatile, attractive and easy to print. When you combine a compelling banner design with intelligent distribution, you’re primed for a high return on investment banner marketing campaign.

Banner design

Your banner design should be simple, short and sweet. It should be creative and clever, funny or meaningful, and it should speak directly to your target customer base. Your banner can include a time-limited offer, benefits (written or implied), and contact information. It should also include your company or brand name, since many customers will Google that instead of call a number or visit a URL. You can even make your banners interactive with special QR codes and smartphone features that lead to videos, quizzes, social media sign-ups and shopping carts. Above all, make your banners easy to understand and remember.

High-traffic intersections allow maximum exposure at minimal cost. Busy shopping districts attract customers already in the buying mood and allow for greater interactivity. Banners placed in view from locations your customers are known to frequent have the best targeting. This month, print three vinyl banners and place one in each location type. Your total investment will only be about $300 ($100 per banner if you print 3-foot by 5-foot banners), plus any fees you’ll have to pay for renting display space. Often, you can negotiate incredibly low monthly fees with property owners.

Banner printing

Print banners on white mesh vinyl, which is designed to withstand the elements. Non-fading inks will keep your banners vibrant all month long, and the mesh vinyl material won’t tear in wind or rain. Invest in premium banner printing at low prices to maximize your return on investment.

Banner response

Measure your banner marketing campaign response by including specific tracking mechanisms on each of your three banners, such as individual URLs. Track which banners performed best in terms of response rate, conversion rate and total sales. Compare that to any increase in your overall sales, since many responses will come from online searches rather than your own tracking mechanisms. Now, you have a base you can compare against other marketing strategies and future banner marketing campaigns. Test, track and tweak your banners so you can deploy future marketing campaigns with reliable – and profitable – results. Challenging yourself to try a new marketing strategy every month is a powerful way to grow your business with minimal investment. With vinyl banners, you can invest less than $500 yet reap excellent profits. Have you tried vinyl banner marketing? What were your results?

About Brian Morris

Brian Morris serves in various capacities as a freelance writer, content developer and public relations specialist for growing small businesses. When he’s not writing, he can be found on the racquetball court - usually getting his tail kicked by guys 20 years older.

Vinyl banners are the best way to speak to your audience, of course the affordability is one of the factors but vinyl banners are less time consuming and the man power required is few.Thanks for sharing time.

Signage design, thanks for your comment! Vinyl banners are only expensive if you think in terms of cost; if you consider them in terms of investment, or the price you pay to reach each prospective customer, vinyl banners actually represent some of the cheapest marketing materials you can get!

You're absolutely right, Jarrod! When many small businesses are increasing spend on digital marketing, they should keep in mind that banners can be some of the most effective marketing tools on the planet - especially for local marketing!

I think designing is the key here.. how creative someone can get in order to attract the eye! Of course placing the banners at the side of a busy shopping district would be ideal but the most important thing is to know what to display, how, what kind of colors to use, etc. Nice post!Peter

Peter, you're absolutely right. Simply having a banner in a great location isn't enough - you also have to have a compelling banner design that motivates customers to take the desired action. Thanks for posting!

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The PsPrint Blog is a resource for graphic designers, freelancers, small business owners and fans of print marketing. You'll find helpful techniques on printing everything there is to print, including business cards, postcards, brochures, stickers, invitations, greeting cards, door hangers, magnets and more. The PsPrint Blog shares creative ways to improve your design and layout skills, and useful tips for marketing your business in any medium. We also like to have a little fun, sharing design inspiration and spotlighting some our favorite customers' printed pieces in our "Hot Off the Press" series.